UN dismisses 'irrelevant' submissions by fugitive Nithyananda's Kailasa at Geneva meetings
London/Geneva (PTI): The UN human rights office Thursday said any submissions made by representatives of the so-called "United States of Kailasa (USK)", founded by Indian fugitive Nithyananda, at its public meetings in Geneva last week were "irrelevant" and will not be considered in the final outcome drafts.
Confirming the participation of the so-called "USK representatives" at two of its public meetings - registration to which was open to everyone, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), however, said they were prevented from distributing promotional material and their "tangential" speech was not taken into consideration.
The comments by the OHCHR spokesperson came even as videos and images showing a USK representative speaking on behalf of the fictional state on "indigenous rights and sustainable development" at one of the events went viral on social media. The two events were held on February 22 and 24.
"Registration for such public events is open to NGOs and the general public. Anyone can submit information to the treaty bodies, who will use their judgment to determine the credibility of the submissions received," the OHCHR spokesperson said when asked about their participation.
"On 24 February, at CESCR's general discussion, when the floor was opened to the public, a USK representative spoke briefly. As the focus of the statement was tangential to the topic at hand, it will not be taken into consideration by the Committee in the formulation of the General Comment," the spokesperson added.
There was no immediate comment from India's permanent mission in Geneva.
However, India's former Permanent Representative at UN, T S Tirumurti, described it as a "complete abuse" of UN procedures.
"It's a complete abuse of UN procedures to have representatives of an organisation run by a fugitive from law address the UN as NGOs or otherwise. India has been consistent in calling for a robust process to ensure that only credible NGOs get accredited. However, this call has not been heeded to," he said.
"While NGOs continue to have an important say in a range of global issues, we need to preserve the integrity of the UN, which is a member State driven organisation," the former diplomat added.
Vijayapriya Nithyananda, who claimed to be "the permanent ambassador of (so-called) the United States of Kailasa", can be seen making her intervention in videos from the event and has triggered questions over the group's involvement at sessions addressed by the likes of former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and other human rights experts.
Nithyananda, a self-proclaimed godman, is wanted in India on several charges of rape and sexual assault allegations he denies. He claims to have founded the "United States of Kailasa (USK)" in 2019 and according to its website, counts "two billion practising Hindus" among its population.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
ALSO READ: Mexico's Congress approves higher tariffs on goods from India, China and non-FTA nations
Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
ALSO READ: Search operation ends in Anjaw truck accident, 20 bodies recovered
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
